Occurrence of Oncideres dejeanii Thomson (Cerambycidae) in Pyrus pyrifolia (Rosaceae), in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

The twig girdler beetles are known for damaging many tree species. These beetles girdle branches and use them to lay their eggs and complete the offspring development. The objective of this work was to describe the occurrence of a case of O. dejeanii girdling Pyrus pyrifolia (pear tree) branches. Three girdled branches of P. pyrifolia were collected and on two of these were captured a female of this twig-girdler beetle on each. The diameter and average length of the branches were 3.47±0.15 cm and 3.31±0.17 m, respectively. The lower third of the girdled branch has presented 52% of the posture incisions. A female was observed performing two postures along the branch, which took 10 and 13 minutes. O. dejeanii uses P. pyrifolia as alternative host, with potential to become pest and reduce output.

doi: 10.4336/2010.pfb.30.62.153